non_aliencreaturesfandomcom-20200223-history
King Hamlet
King Hamlet was the monarch of the kingdom of Denmark, until he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who inherited the throne. His unrestful ghost appeared to his son, Prince Hamlet, asking him to avenge him. In his first appearance, in Act I, Scene V, it is clear that the ghost is real, given that it's seen by several characters (although it should be noted that the Prince is alone with the ghost during their conversation in which the latter confirms his identity and reveals his motivations). However, in his second appearance, in Act III, Scene IV, it is ambiguous as to whether the ghost truly appeared to Prince Hamlet again, or the latter merely hallucinated it. History The ghost of King Hamlet first appeared to the guards of the castle for three consecutive nights. In these occasions, he appeared soon after midnight on the castle's terrace, dressed in the same combat armor that he used in the war against Fortinbras of Norway, and looking exactly like he was in life, except for being much paler. He refused to answer when Horatio tried to communicate with him, and promptly vanished at dawn. On the next day, Horatio informed Prince Hamlet of the apparition, and the Prince demanded to see it. When the spectre showed up, he signaled for Hamlet to follow him and talk to him alone, in spite of the protests of Horatio and Marcellus, who thought that some evil spirit might be setting a trap for the Prince. Specifically, they warned Hamlet that the spectre could "assume some other horrible form, which might deprive your sovereignty of reason and draw you into madness". However, the determined Prince ignored their pleas and followed the ghost in the direction of a seaside cliff. Once the two were alone, the ghost revealed to Prince Hamlet that he had been poisoned by his own brother, Claudius, and asked his son to avenge him. He claimed that he could only appear in the world of the living at night, and at dawn he must render himself to "sulphurous and tormenting flames"; and that this punishment would last "till the foul crimes done in his days of nature are burnt and purged away". Even after he physically left the scene, the ghost's voice could still be heard from his underground prison as he echoed the Prince's calls for Horatio and Marcellus to swear to keep secret of what they knew. The story that the ghost told about the circumstance of his death was put to test when the Prince staged a theatrical presentation to the court featuring a character murdering another in exactly the same way. Claudius' horrified reaction to this all but confirmed the truth, cementing the fact that the ghost was, in fact, King Hamlet; and not a trickster spirit or impostor. After that, the ghost briefly returned once again after Hamlet murdered Polonius (having mistaken him for Claudius) and confronted his mother, Gertrude, about the fact that she had married Claudius. The spectre reminded the Prince that the latter had promised to pursue revenge against Claudius, not Gertrude. It is notable that in this second manifestation, the ghost is seen only by Hamlet: even though Gertrude is in the room with them, she cannot see it, and thinks Hamlet is talking to himself. This fact suggests either that the ghost can choose to become selectively visible; or that this second appearance is not real, but rather a hallucination spawned from Hamlet's unstable mental state at this point. Appearances *''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', by William Shakespeare (1600) Notes *Although the veracity of such claims isn't known for sure, tradition holds that the role of King Hamlet's ghost was originally performed by Shakespeare himself, in one of his many acting roles. The earliest known reference to this comes from Nicholas Rowe, who lived roughly a century after Shakespeare and edited his works. Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Spirits Category:Sentient Beings Category:Sapient Beings Category:Human Variations Category:Males Category:Danish Characters Category:Military Personnel Category:Royalty Category:Characters Debuting in 1600 Category:Creatures Created by William Shakespeare Category:Live Action Creatures Category:Literary Creatures Category:Characters Portrayed by Patrick Stewart Category:Characters Portrayed by Brian Blessed